Ban joins Hispaniola effort against cholera

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Ban Ki-moon has announced a new initiative that will support a 10-year effort against cholera in Haiti. This comes amid mounting calls for the United Nations to take responsibility over the spread of the disease in the country.

The Initiative for the Elimination of Cholera in Haiti will focus on water and sanitation projects, and support the Haitian government’s oral vaccination campaign. Target beneficiaries are people in densely populated urban areas and those in areas “far removed from health services.”

“As [global vaccine] production increases, the vaccine effort will expand its reach,” the U.N. secretary-general said during the initiative’s launch.

Ban has announced $215 million in support from bilateral and multilateral donors. The United Nations will also provide $23.5 million to the initiative.

The initiative will complement a call for action against cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic in January. The action plan, developed by both governments, will be launched in January 2013, according to the Pan-American Health Organization. Under it, Haiti will need $2.2 billion to see the end of the epidemic in the country.

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